Board of Education

Families are welcomed and encouraged to view any Palo Alto Unified School District policies.

Palo Alto Unified maintains current copies of our District policies and administrative regulations in the BoardDocs eGovernance platform.

If you have questions regarding any district policy, please contact your child’s school directly.

Browse Board Policies & Administrative Regulations

The Board of Education encourages your participation in its deliberations and has tried to make it convenient for you to express your views to the Board. If you wish to address the Board on an agenda item, please fill out a speaker card and give it to a staff person (seated at a side table) as soon as possible and prior to the item being called. Any additional materials (e.g. copies of your remarks, charts or graphs, copies of articles, or reports) you present will be copied and presented to all Board members after the meeting. The Board President will randomly call on persons submitting cards.

Should you wish to present a letter for inclusion in the Board packet, it must be received by the Superintendent's Office by noon the Tuesday the week before a Board meeting. Please indicate that you would like it included in the packet. Correspondence attached to an email (board@pausd.org) and received as noted will be included in the packet; however, email correspondence itself is not included.

The general order of regular Board meetings is as follows:

• Staff presentation
• Preliminary Board and staff discussion
• Community participation
• Additional Board deliberation and decision, if appropriate

SPEAKER CARDS FOR NON-AGENDIZED ITEMS - OPEN FORUM

If you wish to address the Board on an item that is not on the agenda, you may speak during Open Forum, which immediately follows approval of the Consent Calendar (approximately 6:35 p.m.). Please fill out a speaker card and present it to a staff member at the beginning of the meeting. Board members or district staff members may briefly respond to statements made or questions posed by the public about items not appearing on the agenda, but they cannot take action (any additional material you present at the Board meeting will be copied and provided to all Board members after the meeting).

SPEAKER CARDS FOR AGENDIZED ITEMS

If you wish to address the Board on an agenda item, please fill out a speaker card and present it to a staff member as soon as possible and prior to the item being called (any additional material you present at the Board meeting will be copied and provided to all Board members after the meeting).

ALLOCATED TIME TO SPEAK

Board agendas are very full and time is limited. Therefore, we request that you speak only once on an item and limit your remarks. With Board consent, the President may adjust the time allowed for public presentation, depending on the topic, to the following:

• 1-10 speakers = 3 minutes
• 11-15 speakers = 2 minutes
• 16-20 speakers = 1.5 minutes
• 21+ speakers = 1 minute

REQUESTS TO BE INCLUDED IN BOARD PACKETS

Should you wish to present a letter(s) or other materials for inclusion in the Board packet, it must be received by the Superintendent's Office by noon Tuesday the week prior to a Board meeting. Please indicate you would like your material included in the packet. Correspondence attached to an email will be included in the packet. Emails themselves are not included in the packet in order to protect private email addresses. Please email board@pausd.org.

SPECIAL MEETINGS / STUDY SESSIONS

Due to the short notice often associated with posting special meetings and study sessions, there is no Open Forum at these meetings. The public is welcome to address any item that is posted on the agenda. As these meetings are less formal, the format for discussion may vary slightly from regular meetings.

REQUESTS TO ADD AN ITEM TO A FUTURE AGENDA

A citizen may place an item on a future Board agenda by submitting a written request and supporting information to the Superintendent's Office. The Superintendent, in consultation with the Board President and Vice President, will determine at which upcoming regular Board meeting the item will be scheduled. The person who requested the item will be allowed three minutes at the meeting to present the information to the Board. Following this presentation, the Board may address the issue, put the issue on a future agenda for more discussion and action, refer the issue to the administration for follow-up, or take no action.

Each year the Board of Education members liaise to schools and committees in order to build relationships, hear from staff, students, and families, and to act as a conduit for information to and from the schools, Palo Alto Partners in Education (PiE), and the PTA Council.